Tag Archives: jefferson monument

Living in Toronto I have had the opportunity to travel to a myriad of the northeastern US states. One of the only places I have never had the opportunity to visit was Washington, D.C. Growing up I recall people expressing how quite dangerous DC could be. Also, I never had the desire to explore a city that was highly influenced by politics. DC always created the impression of a place one would go on a middle school field trip. Someplace I thought may bore me. Don’t get me wrong, I was interested in planting my feet in front of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (The White House), seeing Capitol Hill and the Washington Monument to name a few.

The White House | Shot with Sony A7 |

As a photographer my interests have changed and many of the places I never had the desire to visit are places I now have a fascination to see. After visiting Miami & Tampa, Florida and making a brief stopover in Savannah, Georgia, Washington, D.C., was the next place I wanted to visit before returning to Canada. I didn’t do any research on where to go or what to see besides the obvious things. Places that are frequently shown on the news and on television. Surprisingly finding a hotel was challenging due to the National Cherry Blossom Festival. As a matter of fact, the pricing of hotels is astronomical. More than double the rates I paid in New York City a few days later.

Cherry Blossoms Surrounding the Tidal Basin | Shot with Sony A7 |

I was so poorly schooled about DC that when someone asked me if I was going to visit The National Mall, my response was, I did enough shopping while I was in Miami. Doh! With a laugh at my expense, I immediately learned that The Mall was the area between the Lincoln Memorial and The Capital. Shameful! I will blame my lack of US knowledge on the Canadian schooling system. Along The Mall there are 10 museums including the Smithsonian and the National Building of Natural History, both of which I visited.